Students From RI High Schools and Brown Hold Protest at Chase Over Bank's Climate Policies

Students From RI High Schools and Brown Hold Protest at Chase Over Bank's Climate Policies

Students from East Greenwich High, Tollgate, School One, and Brown University held a protest on Monday at the Chase Bank branch on Thayer Street in Providence.

The sponsors of the action were the Jewish Youth Climate Movement of RI and Climate Action RI.

The central issue of the protest was the bank’s funding of fossil fuel initiatives.

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According to the organizers of the protest, on Tuesday, the shareholders will vote at Chase's annual general meeting on a resolution calling on Chase to stop funding the expansion of fossil fuels.

"We continue to contact and call upon the major shareholders of Chase stocks - especially Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, and state treasurers - to vote yes on the resolution," said protest organizers. 

Protesters delivered a letter calling on Chase to stop funding fossil fuel expansion and to drop its current greenwashing activities. Chase is an industry leader as the largest bank in the U.S. and the bank which funds more fossil fuel expansion than any other bank in the world.

Will Nakshian, CARI's director of communications and a Cumberland resident, said:  "With the global and human stakes so incredibly high, it's well past time for governments and the fossil fuel industry, and its financial enablers like Chase Bank, to take urgent actions. The first step is to stop digging us into a deeper hole and to stop financing more fossil fuel exploration and new development."